When I saw on the cast page that at least one of the players had a character who belonged to every one of the 5 different 4e alignments, I wondered if 5 of the elements might be alignment based. So instead of Rainbow Dash getting the Element of Harmony focused on Loyalty, she might get one of the "Elements of Power", perhaps the Element of Treachery, while Rarity got the Element of Greed. If the Elements were created through the combined efforts of the Good God Celestia and the Evil God Nightmare Moon, as part of a plan to defeat their common enemy, Discord, then needing both Good and Evil characters to active the Elements would make sense. If this was the direction the DM had in mind, the reconciliation between Celestia and Nightmare Moon at the end of the party's first adventure would happen because both Celestia and Luna knew that Discord is coming back.

Keep in mind that before she bowed out, Ms. Faust worked with the second-season scripts. Supervising Director Jayson Thiessen has pointed out repeatedly that second season still is her show; it won’t be until third season that her contribution will wane.

Keep in mind that before she bowed out, Ms. Faust worked with the second-season scripts. Supervising Director Jayson Thiessen has pointed out repeatedly that second season still is her show; it won’t be until third season that her contribution will wane.

Actually, there are still alignment restrictions... for PARAGON PATHS. And the ones restricted as such are pretty rare.

The base classes, however, are open to anyone. Apparently someone finally got the memo about potential Paladins of Tiamat or something. Personally, I like it. Feels more free... Even though most paladins I hear about still go Lawful Good. At least it's a choice.

Though, also personally, I just think the 4e alignment system is a step towards getting rid of the alignment system entirely. Which I view as a good thing. Reducing the number of alignments to five offers more freedom within those alignments and provides a good stepping stone for traditionalists to ease into a no-alignment system, while the 4e system (and earlier systems, I admit) still have their own merits.

Wow, that's a rant I haven't heard very often. And completely disagree with.
The lack of "lawful evil" really stings, I miss Chaotic Good, but mostly I find the way they're arranged to imply Lawful Good is extra good and Chaotic evil is extra evil quite annoying. At least the old one didn't say have that kind of implied moral judgement about types of good.
And getting rid of the alignment system takes away one of the things that makes D and D itself. The idea of effects that discriminate based on the spiritual qualities of the target is one with a long and effective history in fantasy.
And it provides less of a stepping stone for traditionalists to abandon the alignment system than a stepping stone for them to go play Pathfinder.

I was the one who pointed out Applejack's ability scores, but then a fellow peer reminded me that you can still get her ability scores if you do not min/max.

I did not mention Fluttershy's ability scores because they were spread out/min-maxed as best as she could, for a mostly roleplaying character. I have seen much worse in the way of ability score spreads for combat characters. But for someone who won't be maximizing for combat, her spread works. Just make sure to get powers that don't need you to roll dice to hit, or get a good implement and array of feats to make up for the lack of a primary ability for attack rolls.

Indeed, it looks like she built her stats on her character concept, not the concept to justify the stats. Definite roleplayer, though inexperienced. And stumbling adorably over the concept.

I like the approach of coming up with a concept first, then imagining how it works mechanically. Though I have two rules I follow when making a character: No stat below 10 (phobia of negative modifiers, you might say) and no overt min-maxing. The character is to be good at what they do, not a demi-god birthed from game mechanics.

Though it usually only translates to willingly giving up a +1 or two so I'm merely good, not great. I had a 'monk lite' Brawler fighter who fought with two spiked gauntlets (refluffed, but mechanically the same) even though that meant a die size or two below what I would've got on my main weapon.

I'm explaining this so I can make it clear exactly why Fluttershy is endearing to me in this comic. And why it's unfair I can't reach through my screen to hug her.

I don't really like how the 4e alignment system gets rid of chaotic neutral and lawful neutral. Those are the alignments I like to play most, but my fellow players often call me out on it when I try to roleplay according to those.

Yes, so far the author has managed to update his site almost every time at 6:00 AM PST. But it is well passed then by time of this post (about 11:45 AM PST). I am worried I will not see the comic until later today as I will need to head off to work soon for a closing shift.

Vis a Vis my previous comment:
And then, sometimes "underpowered" or "unusual" builds can making for some very interesting RP. Don't know enough about 4E to comment if the strength 8 thing nerfs her offensive abilities enough to be a contributing factor to her character ending up being played as a pacifist. Then again, you could re-flavor that into her continually missing with spells.

Actually, that brings to mind the question of if you are going to include the Elements of Harmony as being the empathic weapon(s) with the themes they have in the show. I ask because an Evil, greedy character being the Element of Generosity seems a bit odd. Rarity pulls it off in the show because she is GOOD and GREEDY, creating a strong tension.